As children, we all hated taking medicine. The sticky pink cough syrup on the spoon or the Grape and Cherry flavored chewables tasted almost as bad as vegetables. Our parents wished there was an easier and more enjoyable way to give us medicine. One woman thought the same thing and took action, she created a medicine dispenser that looked like an elephant.

Tiffany Krumins worked as a nanny with a young boy with Down’s syndrome. When it was time for him to take his medicine he would cause a fuss and it was extremely difficult for her to administer his medicine. It upset her that he should go through so much pain for a task that she believed could go smoother. After her day at work, she ran home and made a medicine dispenser that looked like an elephant. AVA the elephant was born. She was not pretty, being made out of a sponge, fabric, a medicine dropper, and a chip from a musical card, but she worked. AVA had made taking medicine easy and fun.

TIffany knew that AVA was a product that could help a lot of families. There was one problem, she had no idea how to go about seeking funds. One day she saw an ad to apply for the T.V. show Shark Tank. Tiffany appeared on the very first episode. The investors loved her and she was able to partner with Barbara Corcoran. She made her T.V. appearance in 2005, and now AVA the elephant is in stores near you. AVA is available in over 10,000 stores in the U.S.A, some include CVS Pharmacy, Safeway, BabiesRUs, and Amazon.

While she was pursuing her dream of making children’s lives happier, Tiffany was also dealing with personal issues. At the age of 28 she was diagnosed with cancer. This did not discourage her from helping children. She fought through it and is now cancer free! It takes extreme dedication to start a business while dealing with such a terrible illness. Tiffany is an inspiration and continues to design different animal medicine dispensers to help children everywhere.